I'm kinda confused by all these new (and old? I have a bad memory for this stuff) characters, but anyways I hope this won't get too drama-centered, we had some really cute scenes in this chapter after all!
Eh, IMO this mangaka does all the cliches . . . but very lightly, so I wouldn't worry a whole lot. Gonna be, rival shows up, rival has little impact, causes mild misunderstanding which is cleared up almost immediately, kind of thing.
i love this author, cause she does all the usual cliches but she does them in her own way, like it starts off in the normal way, but steers off the usual path just enough that it makes its interesting and lovable. Idk how to explain it, but I love it.